Upholstery cover-frame connection



Jan. 24, 1967 c. R. HELMS UPHOLSTERY COVER-FRAME CONNECTION Filed June10, 1965 INVENTOR. C Rose/er HEAMS I I WISlIlI/IIIIIIII.

ATTORNEY r 3,300,251 a 'UPHoLsTERY COVER-FRAME CONNECTION Charles RobertHelms, ()ld Zionsville, Par, assignor to Knoll Associates, Inc New York,N.Y., a corporatio of New York i k Filed June 10, 19 65, Ser. No.462,868

. 13 Claims. (Cl. 297445) This invention-relates to an upholstery-frameconnection, and, more particularly, to an improved connector meanscomprising a collapsible strip connector which is permanently aflixed toupholstery about'itsborders or edges and which is receivediri lockingengagement'within acooperating channel in a rigid furniture frame forsecuring the upholstery to the frame. I

'Theuse of either singleor superposed layers of upholstery orupholsteredcushions on the 'body' supporting portions of articles of furniture ishighly desirable'in that the appearance of the furniture is enhanced andthe comfort of the occupant of the furniture is greatly increased.Upholstered furniture, however, generally" is more expensive'thanunupholstered furniture due, in large part, to the'increased assemblycosts arising from the difficulty of securing the upholstery to theframe of the furniture] In addition, upholstered'furniture is moreexpensive to maintain' than unupholstered furniture, since theupholstery usually becomes worn through normal use, or'soiled or damagedlong before the frame of the furniture reaches a state of wear ordisrepair requiring its disposal.

It is desirable,whether the furniture be ofthe type for use-in a home orin an office, or for use in a public place,-that the furniture be ofstrong, light weight, and relatively inexpensive construction. Tominimize the manufacturing costs of the furniture, not only is itnecessary to provide a'furniture frame and upholstery for use therewith"which are both relatively inexpensive, but. also it'isnecessary that theconnection for joining'the uph'olsteryto'the frame permit of rapid,efficient assembly. The assembled furniture nevertheless must beesthetically pleasing in appearance and of durable construction; Inparticular, the connection between the upholstery and the frame shouldbe unobtrusive and preferably'camouflaged I from view. Further, theconnection must not'be subject to easy disassembly, as a result eitherof malicious tampering or careless use, or as a result of normal wear.Although providing a substantially'permanent assembly, it

is also desirable that the connection permit of replacement 3 of theupholstery without substantial disassembly of the frame and with aminimum of effort; the ability to replace the upholstery extends theuseful life ofthe furniture and reduces the maintenance cost.

There have been proposed heretofore for use in the manufacture ofupholstered furniture, numerouscombinationsof furniture frames andconnections'for securing up holsteryto'the frame-s' Some of theseconnections also provide'for replacing the upholstery to prolong theuseful life of the furniture. Most of the prior art connections,

however,"are rather difficult to assemble andthus con tribute toundesirably high manufacturing costs. In'addition, replacement of theupholstery is difiicult toachieve inthat-it requires substantialdisassembly of both the connectionand the associated elements of thefurniture frame.

Others of the prior art connections do not provide a suffi cientlystrong, durable connection and still others require the Iuse' of metalclips andthe like which increases the expense of the connectioncomponents and complicate the assembly thereof while detracting from theappearance of along its other, or second longitudinal edge. 'A channelis providedin the frame elements to which the upholstery is to besecured, the channel having a restricted opening at the surface oftheframe elements and an enlarged interior portion. The upholstery issecured to the frame elements by threading the beaded edge of theconnector strip into the channel.

Since the frame elements of the furniture are substantially rigid, andthe beading on the connector strips is solid, it is necessary that aninlet to theenlarged interior portion of the channel be provided toenable the thread ing of the beading into the channel. The inlet may beprovided by separating butted ends of the frame to expose the channel ina transverse section; however, this provision requires subsequentreassembly of the frame to aflix the butted ends together after thethreading of the beading is completed. Alternatively, a portion of thechannel opening at the surface of the frame elements may be enlarged andthe heading threaded through the opening. In either case, the beadededge of the connector strip musthave a free end to permit the threadinginto the channel.

The threading of the beading into and through the channel is a rathertime-consuming and difficult task; the threading is particularlytroublesome when the frame elements are angularly related and as aresult there are corresponding angles or bends in the channel throughwhich the beading must be threaded. In replacing worn or old upholstery,the beaded connector strip must be removed from the channel by the sametime-consuming threading procedure. I

These and other deficiencies of prior art upholsteryframe connectionsareovercome by the upholstery-frame connection of the invention. Thecomponents of the up holstery-frame connection of this invention arerelatively low in cost of manufacture and are assembled quickly andeasily to provide a connection which is substantially camouflaged fromview, and which provides a very neat, finished appearance to thecompleted article of furniture. Further, the connection provides securefastening of up: holstery to the rigidframe while permittingreplacementof the upholstery .when'desired. T her-connection] also is employablefor securing sheet-like material to a skeletal, supporting frame whereinthe sheet-like material provides an underlying supporting surface onwhich is received and mounted upholstered material, such as anupholstered cushion, in the assembly of upholstered furniture.

It is therefore an object of this invention to'providean improvedupholstery-frame connect-ion. v H I ,Another object of this invention'is'to provide an'improved connection for joining sheet-like material toa supporting frame for assembling upholstered furniture.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improvedupholstery-frame connection which is low in cost and which is quicklyand easily asembled for securing upholstery to the rigid frame of anarticle of furniture.

' A further object of this invention is to provide an im provedupholstery-frame connection which is quickly and easily assembled forsecuring upholstery to the rigid frame of an article of furniture andwhich permits replacement of the upholstery without any disassembly ofthe furniture frame. i v

- These and other objects of this invention will become apparentas thefollowing description proceeds.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of thein: vention, theupholstery-frame connection comprises an elongated connector strip of aresilient material including a web and a barb along a first longitudinaledge thereof extending outwardly at anacute angle from the surface ofthe web. A marginal section of the web adjac'entthe first longitudinaledge and underlying the bath is under cut, .or of a reduced thickness,and the web extends from the undercut section in a tapered configurationfrom a thicker section adjacent the undercut section to a thinnersection adjacent a second longitudinal edge. The thinner section of theweb is attached to the upholstery about its entire periphery, preferablyby stitching, the ends of the strip being brought together, or butted,preferably at the center of the front edge of the chair seat. Theconnection also includes a continuous channel in associated elements ofthe rigid frame to which the upholstery or other sheet material is to besecured, the channel having a restricted opening defined by a lip at thesurface of the frame and an enlarged interior portion, the latter beinggenerally identical in its configuration and dimensions to the barb andits underlying web portion of the connector strip. To secure theupholstery to the frame, the barb is compressed and received incontiguous superposed relationship on the undercut section of the stripconnector. When so compressed, the barb and the undercut section have acombined thickness approximately equal to that of the thicker section ofthe tapered portion of the web, thereby enabling their easy insertionthrough the restricted opening of the channel and into the channelinterior. The barb resiliently unfolds or opens within the channelinterior with the barb tightly engaging the interior surface of the lipto lock the barbed portion of the web within the channel. The connectoris inserted into the continuous channel progressively throughout itslength, thereby securing the upholstery continuously about its periphcryto the frame. To remove the upholstery, the connector strip is graspedat one of the butted ends, for example by a pair of pliers, and pulledforcibly out of the channel; the strip may then be grasped by hand andremoved from the channel progressively throughout its length. Newupholstery material, with a new connector affixed thereto, then issecured to the frame as hereinbefore described.

The invention will more readily be appreciated with reference to thefollowing drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a molded-shell chair having a rigid framewith a continuous channel therein for receiving the connector strip ofthe invention to secure upholstery to the frame;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the connector strip of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the components of theupholstery-frame connection of the invention, showing the connectorstrip prior to insertion into a cooperating channel in a rigid frame ofan article of furniture;

FIG. 4 is a view taken in a plane passing through the line 44 in FIG. 1and shows the upholstery-frame connection of the invention, asassembled, for securing an upholstery to the frame, the upholsterycovering a cushion received on the shell;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a chair having a rigid skeletal frameincluding continuous channels for receiving a connector strip, inaccordance with the invention, and shows an underlying supportingsurface of a webbing grid secured to the skeletal frame by theupholstery-frame connection of the invention for mounting upholsteredcushions (shown in broken-away fashion) on the frame; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken in a plane passing through the line 6-6in FIG. 5 and shows the connection, as assembled, securing the webbinggrid to the frame and supporting an upholstered cushion thereon.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a vertical cross-section of a chair 1 includinga rigid, contoured frame 2 which is formed conveniently as an extrusionof aluminum or similar material. The frame 2 provides the mainstructural support of the body-receiving portion of the chair 1. Theframe 2 (only half of which is shown) includes a back element 2a and aseat element 2b joined in continuous integral fashion by anintermediate, curved element 2c. A first channel 3 and a second channel4 extend continuously about the inner surface of the frame 2.

A molded shell 5, preferably formed of plastic or similar material, iscontoured to provide a back portion 5a and a seat portion 512, joined incontinuous, integral fashion by an intermediate curved portion 5c. Theshell 5 includes an integral flange 6 formed in continuous fashtionabout the periphery thereof, and is mounted on the rigid frame 2 byinserting the flange 6 into the first channel 3. Both the seat shell 5and the frame 2 are sufiioiently flexible and resilient to permit of aslight, temporary distortion for inserting the flange 6 of the shell 5into the channel 3.

If desired, however, the frame 2 may be cut at one or more places, andthe cut ends which normally are held together in butted relationship, asindicated by the numeral 7, spread apart to enlarge the dimensions ofthe frame 2, thereby facilitating the insertion of the flange 6 into thechannel 3 to mount the shell 5 within the frame 2. Following theassembly, the frame 2 is drawn tightly about the shell 5, locking theflange 6 within the channel 3 and the cut ends of the frame 2 are joinedtogether.

A seat support 10 includes a plurality of generally horizontal,contoured rods 12, each of which is joined at its opposite ends to acorresponding one of a pair of mounting plates 13 (only one of which isshown in FIG. 1). The rods 12 are joined to the mounting plate 13 inspacedapart relationship by welding, as indicated by weld beads 14. Therods 12 are also joined to a base plate 15.

The base plate 15 is typically of a rectangular configuration and isreceived on the seat portion 5b of the shell 5 in a generally horizontalplane. Opposite longitudinal edges of the base plate 15 are bentupwardly to provide a pair of vertical flanges 16 (only one of which isshown in FIG. 1). Each flange 16 is provided with cut-outs 17 suitablydisposed therein for receiving corresponding ones of the rods 12 inspaced-apart relationship. The rods 12 are fitted within thecorresponding cut-outs 17 and welded to the flange 16. If desired, therods 12 also may be welded to the generally flat, intermediate portionof the base plate 15.

Each of mounting plates 13 includes a laterally extending flange 1301which is received within the channel 3 of the rigid frame 2. The channel3 may be made sufficiently large for receiving both the peripheralflange 6 of the shell 5 and the laterally extending flange 13a of themounting plate 13 in superposed relationship. If desired, however, theshell 5 and its peripheral flange 6 may be cut out, or removed, in theportions thereof underlying the mounting plate 13 such that only thelaterally extending flange 13a need be inserted into the channel 3. Insuch a case, the channel 3 may be of a reduced size suflicient forreceiving only the mounting plate flange 13a or the shell flange 6, theflanges 6 and 13a sharing the channel 3 in alternate fashion. Pins 18 orother fastening devices may be driven through suitable aligned aperturesin the frame 2 and the flanges 6 and 13a to secure the shell 5 and themounting plates 13, respectively, to the frame 2.

The body-receiving portion of the chair 1 is mounted on a base support20. The base support 20 includes a tubular column 21 having a coaxialtubular insert 22 telescoped within the top end thereof. The column 21passes upwardly through an aperture 23 provided in the seat portion 5bof the shell 5 and the tubular insert 22 extends upwardly therefrom andis received within an aperture 24 in the central, generally horizontalportion of the base plate 15. The top edge of the tubular insert 22typically is welded to the portion of the base plate 15 surrounding theaperture 24. The base support 20 further is provided with legs 26 of anysuitable configuration to provide stabilizing support for the chair 1 onan underlying supporting surface such as a floor.

The upholstery-frame connection of the invention includes a connectorstrip 30, shown in transverse section in FIG. 2, and the channel 4within which the strip 30 is received for attaching upholstery to theframe 2. The connector strip 30 is formed of a resilient material, suchas any of various plastics; for certain assemblies the connector strip30 may be formed of a relatively light-weight, spring steel. The degreeof pliability or rigidity of, and the type of material from which theconnector strip 30 is formed depends in large part upon theparticular'use thereof, as explained more fully hereinafter. Theconnector strip 30 includes a web 31 of a generally planar configurationand a barb 32 formed integrally therewith along a first longitudinaledge thereof. The barb 32 extends outwardly at an acute angle from thesurface of the web 31. The web 31 preferably is undercut, or of areduced thickness, 'in a marginal section 31a and extends in a taperedconfigurationfroma thicker section 31b adjacent the undercut section 31ato a thinner section 310 adjacent a second longitudinaledge thereof. Inother words, a recess is formed in the strip, and strip material 31aunderlies the recess. Hence, when the barb 32 is pressed inwardly intothe recess, the combined thickness of the strip material 31a and'barb 32is substantially equal to the thickness of the strip portion 31badjacent to the barb. I ,7

The use of the connection of the invention in a first embodiment thereoffor securing upholstery to the rigid frame 2 vvill be describedwithfconcurrent reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. A cushion 35, preferably of'fo'am rubber and enclosed in a cover 36 of a material such as Dacron, ispositioned on the shell 5 and provides resilient padding for both theseat and the back of the chair. The cushion 35 is held in place byupholstery 37 which'is secured to the frame 2 by the upholstery-frameconnection of the invention. For clarity in the drawing, the upholstery37 and cover 36 are exaggerated in size, I

The connector strip 30 is secured, preferably by one or more rows ofstitching 39, to the border or edge 38 of the upholstery'37 andextendssubstantially continuously about its entire periphery. Aspresently preferred, the ends of the strip are butted or broughttogether at the front edge of the chair seatj I i The connector strip 30is attached to the frame 2 by being inserted into the channel 4 Toeffect the insertion, forces F are appliedjas indicated by'the arrowslabeled F in FIG. 3, to collapse the barb' 32 inwardly to be receivedwithin the undercutsection 31a, thereby enabling the first longitudinaledge of the strip 30 to be inserted through the restricted opening ofthe channel 4 formed by lip 4-7. The initial collapsing step, describedabove, is only necessary to start the insertion; there-after, due to thetapered configuration of the outer surface of the barb 32 relative tothat of the web 31, the strip 30 is merely forced into the channel,collapsing automatically as it passes through the'restrictedopening, andsubsequently resiliently expandingwithin the interior of the channel.Preferably, a lubricant such as silicon is sprayed onto the barb 32 tofa'cilitate'the insertion. The insertion maybe performed by hand or byany'suitable tool. p v

When received entirely within the enlarged interior portion 48 of thechannel 4 and upon termination of the forces F, the barb 32 resilientlyexpands outwardly toward its normal configuration and engages theinterior surface of the lip 47. The cross-sectional configuration anddimensions of the first longitudinal edge of the strip 30, including thebarb 32, and the interior portion 48 of the channel 4aresubstantiallyidentical, although the portion 48 is: somewhat deeper .to'assure that the barb 32 is received completely therewithin; Theresilient expanding of the barb 32 looks the strip 30 securely withinthe channel 4. V I v I 7 Since the barb 31 and the undercut section31a'of the web 31 are concealed within the interior of the frame 2 andthe second longitudinal edge f 'the web portion 31 is concealed withinthe border 38 of the upholstery 37, the upholstery-frame connection 'oftheinvention is substantially concealed from View when assembled.Further, the web portion 31 of the connector strip 30, in addition toits securing function, spans the gap be tweemthe border 38. ofthetcushion 35 ;and the frame 2 withjthef 'thicker"section '31bfsubstantially nosi gm filling the restricted openingof" the channel 4and there: by'providesaneat, finished appearance vtofthe assernbledl'furniture. V Preferably, the cushion 35, is made oversiie," andbulges the upholsteryQ37],upwardlflthereby providing a smo oth,tautsurfac'e'. I: The upholstery,37,5cures the cushion 35 onsli'd in g,non-'disp'lac'eal;ile relationship on thefs'hell 5 and relative to theframe]; the connectio'n remainslsecure f and is not subject todisengagement under conditions of, normal wean, Since the connectionincludesgnoiprotrii ons, separate fastening elements. such as metalclips, the like, it discourages pers ons fronr inadvertently or evenmaliciously tamper'ingg thei ewith and assuresa long pe? 'riod of useoftheupholsteredfurniture. n

The connection offthefinvenpnenables 'heupholfstery j37 'tojberenroved'fromRhe frame w thout-Ithe necessity of 'ainy'fdisassembly of Ithe frame 2.1 re;- rnoval is effected byf'grasping the connector "stri:0 seamen; at one of its abutted ends and forcibly, w thldrawingiti fromwithinfthe 'ohannel 4} f The grasping conveniently may I be accomplishedby p a; pair of pliers The 'connectorstrip 30 then may be grasped byhand withdrawn from the'ohannel 4 progressively throughout its length."A new' cushion, to whi0h,is;sec rehhw connector strip, then is mountedonfthe 2' inthe manneri as' hereinbefore {described In th'e e b dimentof F S; '4, the s el s .of the chair 1 {provides' m m-armin t po 'n 'sua on which the cushion 3 5 isflre'ceivedg The weight of an occupaht ofthechair. 1 is trans mi'tted'through the] ushion 35 and s'uppotted bythe shell 5; theconnector, strip 30: therefore is not're'quired' tosupport 'thej'weightjpf the occupant but 'r'atherfservesf primarily tosecure the cush ion '35 in a fixed position on the shell 5. Theconnector strip 30 therefore may be made of a .relatively'ilightweight,'pliablemiaterial, suchgas any'of various plastics. The pliability' ofthe materialfserlecte'd s 1d, b9 ..S1iifi cient'ito permit ofbendingi'the strip 3;0 in the -plane'of its Web i3 1,"su c'h' .asfisretji lired htttilie top corners .of the back, orth'e fronfoorners' of"the seat of chair fr'anie 2 'toprovide a c-ont'inu" us peripheral,'connectio1i Of'tlhe, 'upholstery37 thereto. I: The connection 'of'theinvention' also 'm'ay be'ehipldyed with a chairfhaving nounderlyingsupportingfsurfa'ce for its associated upholstery, the weight ofoccupantof the chair beingftrians'rnitted from the upholstery 1d thechair frame' bylthe" upholstery-flame connection of the ln theernbodimentof'the invention shown. FIGS/ 5 and 6, achair 60 has a rigidskeletal frarnend does not include ianyf underlying, supp 'f'surrh carhhs upholstery. The upholstery includes ja 'iseat cushion 7i and a backbushion'7 2 (show i1ina'brokemaway view), and webbing \grids'73 and '74Themes br a h strip or webbingof t he'g'rids 7mm 74 f attifohed' 'to theframe'of the air 60 by' the upholstery-frame"connection ofthe invention:V I v V a I v M The frame of the chair'60 is formed conveniently anextrusionofialuminuni orj'othe r matelrial and includes a plurality oflegs 61 joined at t'he topv extremities thereof to-a pair of side frameelements 62 and '63, a front element 64 and rear frame-element 65;Thefrairne le ments '62 to preferably are formed integrally: define theseat-supporting ortion ht' he chairIGOQ' KThe fname elements 62toi65"include (a 'cent' hheh c h'ann'el 66 011' the inner surfacesthereof. There'anfranie elernent 65 'andthe'rearpair ffiegs "61 aj reailso integral withassociated ones of a pairIof'backframe elements FIG.6 is a view taken along a plane passing through the line 66 of FIG. andshows the mounting of the seat cushion 71 to the webbing grid 73' andthe attachment of a webbing strip 73' of the grid 73 to the frame ofchair 60. The back cushion 72 and its associated grid 74 are connectedto the chair frame in a generally identical manner.

The side frame element 62 includes a lip 75 which defines a restrictedopening at the surface of the frame element 62; the opening provides apassageway into an enlarged interior portion 76 of the channel 66.

The connection of the invention includes the channel 66 and a connectorstrip 30' which is received therein for securing an end of a webbingstrip, such as 73', to the frame element 62. Preferably, the connectorstrip 30' is of a length equal to the width of its associated webbingstrip 73'; since the webbing strips are attached to the frame 62 atdisplaced positions, an individual connector strip such as 30" isattached to each end of each webbing strip for securing the latter tothe chair frame. The connector strip 30' has an identical configurationas that of the connector strip 30 of the preceding FIGS. 1 to 4 and isidentified by identical, but primed numerals. The connector strip 30' issecured in any convenient manner to its associated webbing strip 73,such as by stitching or riveting.

The manner of assembling the connection of FIGS. 5 and 6 is alsoidentical to that of FIGS. -1 to 4. Barb 32 is compressed into theundercut marginal section 31a of the web 31' for insertion through therestricted opening of the channel 66; barb 32 resiliently expands orunfolds within the enlarged interior portion 76 of the channel 66 andmoves into locking engagement with the interior surface of lip 75. Thetapered web 31' extends through the restricted opening and joins thewebbing strip 73 to the frame 62.

All of the strips of the grid 73, 74 are attached to their associatedframe elements 62 to 65 in this manner. Thereafter, the cushion 71 ispositioned on the grid 73, 74 and held in place by snaps 77. As analternative, the grid 73, 74 of webbing strips may be formed integrallyor permanently with the cushion 71; in such an embodiment, the oppositeends of each-webbing strip would extend laterally from the periphery ofthe cushion 71 and each end would have attached thereto a connectorstrip such as 30 to secure the webbing strip to the chair frame. Inaccordance with a further alternative, the grid of webbing strips couldbe employed without any additional upholstered cushion or the like; suchan open grid of webbing strips is comm-only employed in lawn or outdoorfurniture.

If desired, plugs may be inserted into the channel 66 intermediateadjacent ones of the connector strips to hold the strips in spacedrelationship; as an alternative, the channel, rather than beingcontinuous, may be formed in short segments spaced at selected intervalsalong the frame.

In the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 1 to 4, the connection ofthe invention primarily holds upholstery in non-sliding ornon-displaceable relationship on an underlying supporting surface,namely, the contoured shell 5. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6,however, the connection of the invention provides the support for theweight of the occupant of the chair and, therefore, must be ofrelatively greater structural strength. The increased strength isachieved readily by increasing the dimensions of the connector stripand, necessarily, the dimensions of the channel which receives theconnector strip, In addition, the connector strip is preferably formedof a more rigid, mechanically stronger material; suitable materialsinclude relatively heavy-weight plastics and resilient metals. Thematerial must be sufiiciently resilient to assure that the bar-b 32'unfolds intothe locking position with the lip 75 and must besufficiently rigid to assure that the locking engagement of theconnector strip 30' within the channel 66 is essentially permanent. TheWebbing strips are attached to straight lengths of the chair frame;therefore, it is not necessary that the connector strips be pliablesince the latter need not be formed or bent to enable their beingreceived in locking engagement within angular or curved receivingchannels. Thus, by selecting a sufficient ly rigid material and byforming the connector strip and the cooperating, receiving channel ofsufiicient size, the requisite structural strength in the connection forsupporting the weight of an occupant of the chair may be achievedwithout imposing any difi iculty in effecting the assembly of theconnection.

The chair 60 is very economical to manufacture, due to the simplicity ofthe skeletal frame and due to the ease with which the upholsteredcushions 71 and 72 are secured to their associated frame elements. It isapparent, of course, that a non-cushioned, upholstered back or a solidback chair may be made, having only the seat cushion 71. In addition,footstools may be constructed in a generally identical manner, but on areduced size, as the seat portion of the chair 60.

In summary, the upholstery-frame connection of the invention is low incost and is quickly and easily assembled for securing upholstery,Whether single or superposed layers of material or a woven grid ofstrips of material, or an upholstered cushion, to the rigid frameelements of articles of furniture. The connection may be employedprimarily to hold upholstery in non-sliding, non-displaceablerelationship on a chair having an underlying support surface, such as acontoured shell, on which the upholstery is received; alternatively, theconnection may be employed to secure upholstery to a skeletal chairframe in which the upholstery directly supports the weight of the chairsoccupant. When assembled, the connection is substantially camouflagedfrom view, and provides the furniture with a neat, finished appearance.The connection of the invention also permits replacement of theupholstery without requiring any disassembly of the furniture frame.

Numerous modifications and adaptations of the upholstery-frameconnection of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all suchmodifications and adaptations which fall within the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A connection for securing sheet-like material to a rigid frame of anarticle of furniture, said connection comprising:

(a) an elongated connector strip of resilient material including a weband a barb, said barb being formed integrally with said web along afirst longitudinal edge of said strip and extending outwardly therefrom,

(b) said strip including a recess in a marginal portion thereof adjacentsaid first longitudinal edge and underlying said barb, strip materialunderlying said recess, said recess being of a size such that when thebarb is forced into the recess the thickness of the strip at the barbadjacent to the web is substantially the same as the thickness of thestrip at the web adjacent to the barb,

(c) said web being secured to said sheet-like material along a secondlongitudinal edge thereof,

((1) said rigid frame including an elongated channel having a restrictedopening at the surface of said frame, and

(e) said barb being compressible inwardly of said recess for insertionthrough said restricted opening and being resiliently expansible to moveinto locking engagement within said channel for securing said sheetlikematerial to said rigid frame.

2. An upholstery-frame connection for securing upholstery to a rigidframe of an article of furniture, said connection comprising:

(a) an elongated connector strip of resilient material including a weband a barb, said barb being integral with a first longitudinal edge ofsaid web and extending outwardly from said web,

(b) said web being undercut in a marginal section thereof adjacent saidfirst longitudinal edge and underlying said bar-b, and leaving webmaterial underlying said barb such that, when the barb is compressedagainst the underlying web material, the combined thickness of the barband underlying web material is substantially the same as the thicknessof the web adjacent to the barb,

(c) said web being secured to said upholstery along a secondlongitudinal edge thereof,

(d) said rigid frame including an elongated channel having a restrictedopening at the surface of said frame, and

(e) said barb being compressible into superposed, contiguousrelationship onto said undercut marginal section for insertion throughsaid restricted opening, and being resiliently expansible to move intolocking engagement within said channel for securing said upholstery tosaid rigid frame.

3. A connection as recited in claim 2 wherein said web is tapered fromsaid undercut marginal section to said second longitudinal edge.

4. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 2, wherein saidbarb normally extends outwardly at an acute angle from said undercutmarginal section of said web, said web extending through said restrictedopening.

5. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 2, wherein saidelongated channel is continuous, and further including upholstery forthe body-supporting portion of said article of furniture, saidupholstery having a continuous edge defining the periphery thereof, andwherein the second longitudinal edge of said web is secured to saidupholstery about the periphery thereof with the connector stripextending from said periphery to position said barb in juxtaposedrelationship with respect to said continuous channel of said rigidframe.

6. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 4 wherein:

(a) said frame includes an elongated lip defining said restrictedopening of said channel at the surface of said frame,

(b) said elongated channel has a configuration in transverse sectiontherethrough corresponding to said marginal section of said web and saidbarb in the normal position of said barb, and

(c) said barb lockingly engages said lip upon resiliently expandingwithin said channel.

7. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 6 wherein said webis tapered from a thicker section adjacent said undercut marginalsection to a thinner section adjacent said second longitudinal edge andsaid thicker section of said Web extends through and substantially fillssaid restricted opening of said channel.

8. An upholstery-frame connection for securing sheetlike material to arigid, skeletal frame of an article of furniture, said connectioncomprising:

(a) body-supporting frame elements including a continuous channelextending about, and having a restricted opening at the surface thereof,

(b) a grid of webbing strips secured to said frame elements forsupporting an occupant of the article of furniture,

(c) a plurality of connector strips formed of resilient material andeach including a web and a barb, said barb being integral with a firstlongitudinal edge of said web and extending outwardly of said web,

((1) said web being undercut in a marginal section thereof adjacent saidfirst longitudinal edge and underlying said barb,

(e) each of said connector strips being secured along a secondlongitudinal edge of said web to the end of an associated webbing strip,and

(f) said barb being compressible into superposed contiguous relationshiponto said undercut marginal section for insertion through saidrestricted opening, and being resiliently expansible into lockingengagement Within said channel for securing said upholstery to saidrigid frame.

9. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 8 wherein each ofsaid connector strips is of a length equal to the width of the webbingstrip to which it is secured.

10. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 8 wherein anupholstered cushion is received n said grid and secured thereto bydetachable connecting means.

11. An upholstery-frame connection as recited in claim 8 wherein anupholstered cushion is formed integrally with said grid and is mountedthereby to said frame.

12. An upholstery-frame connection for securing upholstery to an articleof furniture as recited in claim 11, wherein said cushion is over-sizeand bulges said upholstery outwardly from said shell in a tautcondition.

13. An upholstery-frame connection for securing upholstery to an articleof furniture, said connection comprising:

(a) a seat and back structure for said article of furniture including aunitary, contoured shell having a lip extending about the periphery ofsaid shell and a rigid frame extending about said lip of said shell insurrounding relationship,

(b) said rigid frame including a first continuous channel for receivingsaid peripheral lip of said shell to secure said shell to said rigidframe and a second continuous channel having a restricted opening at thesurface of said frame,

(c) a cushion received on said shell and covering the seat and backareas thereof,

(d) upholstery received on said shell and covering said cushion, saidupholstery having a continuous edge defining the periphery thereof andsaid periphery being disposed in closely spaced relationship to saidsecond continuous channel of said rigid frame,

(e) an elongated connector strip of resilient material including a weband a barb, said barb being integral with a first longitudinal edge ofsaid web and extending outwardly from said web,

(f) said web being undercut in a marginal section thereof adjacent saidfirst longitudinal edge and underlying said barb,

(g) said connector st-rip being secured along a second longitudinal edgeof said web to said upholstery about the periphery thereof and extendingfrom said periphery to position said barb in juxtaposed relationshipwith said continuous channel of said rigid frame, and

(h) said barb being compressible into superposed, contiguousrelationship onto said undercut marginal section for insertion throughsaid restricted opening and being resiliently expansible to move intolocking engagement within said channel for securing said upholstery tosaid rigid frame.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,114,578 12/1963Hamilton 297460 3,179,469 4/1965 Houston 297452 3,222,696 12/1965Grimshaw 297-452 X 3,223,450 12/1965 Pollock 297445 FRANK B. SHERRY,Primary Examiner.

CASMIR A, NUNBERG, Examiner,

1. A CONNECTION FOR SECURING SHEET-LIKE MATERIAL TO A RIGID FRAME OF ANARTICLE OF FURNITURE, SAID CONNECTION COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATEDCONNECTOR STRIP OF RESILIENT MATERIAL INCLUDING A WEB AND A BARB, SAIDBARB BEING FORMED INTEGRALLY WITH SAID WEB ALONG A FIRST LONGITUDINALEDGE OF SAID STRIP AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, (B) SAID STRIPINCLUDING A RECESS IN A MARGINAL PORTION THEREOF ADJACENT SAID FIRSTLONGITUDINAL EDGE AND UNDERLYING SAID BARB, STRIP MATERIAL UNDERLYINGSAID RECESS, SAID RECESS BEING OF A SIZE SUCH THAT WHEN THE BARB ISFORCED INTO THE RECESS THE THICKNESS OF THE STRIP AT THE BARB ADJACENTTO THE WEB IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS THE THICKNESS OF THE STRIP ATTHE WEB ADJACENT TO THE BARB, (C) SAID WEB BEING SECURED TO SAIDSHEET-LIKE MATERIAL ALONG A SECOND LONGITUDINAL EDGE THEREOF, (D) SAIDRIGID FRAME INCLUDING AN ELONGATED CHANNEL HAVING A RESTRICTED OPENINGAT THE SURFACE OF SAID FRAME, AND (E) SAID BARB BEING COMPRESSIBLEINWARDLY OF SAID RECESS FOR INSERTION THROUGH SAID RESTRICTED OPENINGAND BEING RESILIENTLY EXPANSIBLE TO MOVE INTO LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITHINSAID CHANNEL FOR SECURING SAID SHEETLIKE MATERIAL TO SAID RIGID FRAME.